Detectives have now linked the two incidents, while a stabbing in Bloy Street, Easton, on October 16 and a stabbing in Byron Street, St Paul’s, on October 24 - which are not thought to be connected - have caused widespread concern among communities in east Bristol.

Chief inspector Gary Haskins, of Avon and Somerset Police, said 'cohorts of individuals intent on causing each other harm' are responsible for recent violence in Bristol

In an exclusive interview with Bristol Live , chief inspector (ch insp) Gary Haskins, of Avon and Somerset Police, described the recent violence as “unacceptable.”

The police commander, who is based at Trinity Road, declined to refer to those responsible as gangs but said he believes “small cohorts of people intent on causing each other harm” are involved.

'Small cohort of individuals intent on causing harm'

“I know that we have a small cohort of individuals who are at this time intent on causing each other harm.

“We believe we understand that cohort and who they are and we are working actively to identify them and bring them to justice where offences are disclosed.

Ronald Leigh

“We have engaged with an awful lot of the community around public reassurance and I’d like to thank the community and celebrate that Bristol is a very safe city and that is testament to the strength of our communities and the policing that we put in place.”

Read More

The 48-year-old suffered serious injuries during the assault - and Ch Insp Haskins said he remains in critical condition in hospital.

But Ch Insp Haskins said it was still “far too early” to comment on whether the attack on the 48-year-old was retaliation or revenge for the attack on Mr Leigh, which was suggested at the time by residents living in Gill Avenue.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

Following Mr Leigh’s murder, Operation Blueshift was launched to investigate his death and its connection to the assault in Downend Road.

The operation, however, is not linked to either of the stabbings that took place in Bloy Street, Easton, on October 16 or Byron Street, St Paul’s, on October 24 - both of which left two men in hospital.

The three incidents, which happened on successive Tuesdays, shocked the city and left many with concerns as to whether more attacks were likely.

But Ch Insp Haskins was quick to dismiss the notion of a ‘crime wave’ and compared the recent violence in Bristol to knife crime that is being “replicated across the country at the moment”.

(Image: Alex Wood)

“Our interpretation is that any incident involving knife crime is one too many,” he said. “We’ve had two and with the incident in Fishponds that makes three.

“That is not acceptable for the community and that is not acceptable for the constabulary. We can’t say that they’re linked in any way but for too long now knife crime has been people falling back on knives as a way of keeping them safe.